It may be awhile before Ezekiel Elliott finds a new home.
The former three-time Pro Bowl running back and two-time NFL rushing champ remains a free agent less than weeks after his release from the Dallas Cowboys. While we knew Elliott wouldn’t exactly be in hot demand if he became a free agent, his future prospects are looking rather bleak.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier in the week that Elliott had a wish list that mentioned three teams — the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. The report also mentioned that Elliott had hoped to make his decision on his next club by the end of the week.
“Cowboys’ RB Ezekiel Elliott has narrowed down his options about where to play to the Eagles, Jets and Bengals, and he would like to make his decision about where to sign by the end of next week, per sources,” reported Schefter on Thursday, March 23.
The problem is this — this is literally just a”wish list,” as John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia reported. In fact, Clark reports the Eagles haven’t had any conversations with Elliott and have shown no interest in signing the 27-year-old running back.
“I’m told as of right now the Eagles have not engaged in conversations with Ezekiel Elliott about joining the team and are happy with the running backs they have right now,” said Clark. “It seems the Eagles, Bengals, Jets are a wish list for Ezekiel Elliott and where he would like to play.”
Making matters even worse is that not only have the Eagles not show any interest in Elliott, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor publicly shut down the notion of adding the former star running back.
“There’s a lot of great players that are available right now,” Taylor said, via Mike Dyer of WCPO. “We like our team where it’s at right now, but it’s always fun when things get thrown around. Sometimes it’s the first you hear of it, but that’s just the way life works.”
In other words, Elliott’s camp is leaking out a list of teams that he hopes to play for — rather than franchises that are actually interested in having him play for them.
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The stark decline of Elliott is not exactly a surprising one, but it’s a sad one considering how in demand he was just four years prior. It was only four years ago that Elliott signed a six-year deal worth $90 million — $50 million guaranteed — which made Elliott the highest-paid running back in the league at the time.
However, the deal — which technically had him locked in through the 2026 season — outran its course. Elliott’s production declined to career-lows last season as he ran for just 876 yards on 3.8 yards per carry. Furthermore, 2022 Pro Bowler Tony Pollard clearly overtook Elliott as Dallas’ most dynamic running back. Elliott was due to be the second-highest paid running back in the league for the 2023 season at a $10.9 million base salary and $16.7 million cap hit prior to his release.
Elliott still has some value left, even if it’s not a lot at this stage of his career. It’s no secret that the shelf life for running backs is very short and it’s also no revelation that the position is probably the most devalued of any major position in the sport. It’s a major difference from just 15 years prior when running backs such as LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander dominated the gridiron, winning MVP awards and setting records in the process.
The seven-year veteran is still a potent red zone and short-yardage threat — he ranked fifth in the league in 12 touchdowns — and he can still carry the rock, pacing the Cowboys in carries (231 attempts) and ranking 10th in the league in that category last season.
However, it’s clear that Elliott’s options are probably limited. In a more likely scenario, he’ll likely be signed before the start of training camp to a cheap veteran’s deal as a potential complementary back to a defined starter. With just about every NFL team relying on a two-back system, this is where Elliott can find value despite his regressing skills.
Bob Sturm of The Athletic brought up Elliott’s most likely contract with another team just prior to his release from the Cowboys.
“I think the answer is that given the number of analysts and scouts I have talked to about Elliott this year and the consensus opinion is in stone,” said Sturm back in February. “He has very little left in his legs and the word is out. I believe he has one option for employment above the league minimum and it is right here in Dallas. I could be wrong, but if I am, it is a very low number. Maybe one year for $2 million or $2.5 million which is a far cry from what he is used to.”
Elliott could very well latch on with a contender. The Bengals could eventually look for a complementary back to Joe Mixon following Samaj Perine’s departure. Meanwhile, the Eagles could use an insurance policy for the oft-injured Rashaad Penny and the Jets may just sign Elliott to add another big name following their assumed acquisition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
But as we go through the dying days of the free agency period, it’s clear that Elliott is not a player in demand. Teams in need of a running back are clearly shifting their attention towards the draft rather than looking to sign a past-his-prime runner.
It might be awhile until we see where Elliott will play in 2023.
